Prototype parts are made to facilitate confirmation of part designs for manufacturing and testing. The cost of prototype tooling is a substantial portion of the cost of developing new vehicles. One of the problems addressed by this disclosure is reducing the cost of prototype tooling.
A stretch draw die set is used to draw a small number of prototype panels to a desired shape. As shown in FIG. 1, the stretch draw die set includes three die parts—a cavity die “C”; a binder “B”; and a punch “P.” After a part is drawn it is trimmed and then flanged in a direct flange die set. As shown in FIG. 2, the direct flange die set includes three die parts—a flange post “FPT”; a flange steel “FS”; and a flange pad “FPD.”
The die sets may be made from Kirksite™ a moderate strength zinc-base alloy that is easily cast to make lower cost prototype dies. However, even with the use of lower cost Kirksite™ dies, the cost of each die part adds to the cost of the tooling required to make prototype parts.
This disclosure is directed to the above problems and other problems as summarized below.